Teaching A Lesson

"MAVERICK"

That hateful name was the only thing Desmond heard being spat out of Ferrise's mouth before he took off alone. A peaceful silence fell onto the ally after that, but any semblance of peace was false because Desmond at the time was overcome with an indescribable rage. The muscles all over his body contracted making his biceps bulge. Desmond looked like he was about ready to blow up anyone minute, but instead in that rage filled moment Desmond became calm and found peace within himself.

Gerald and Linda noticed every change in Desmond's mood. Both of them didn't want to fight him they only wanted to leave at that moment to confront Maverick. Neither of them did because they weren't sure how peaceful Desmond would be after what just happened or who he would blame. In a bid to mitigate the situation Gerald tried to clear up any misconceptions.

"Sir, I can assure you that this is nothing more than another misunderstanding. You see..."

"Shut up".Desmond coldly uttered.

He wasn't interested in any of Gerald's excuses he didn't care if what he was about to say was only lies or truth. Desmond had already made up his mind he needed this to happen, he wanted it desperately. As Desmond's determination became as firm as stone his eyes began to emit the glow of an aura. That sight was shocking to Gerald he knew Desmond's soul was strong but he didn't think it had reached such a high level. In Theotera your eyes only glow when you reach rank 1 for an apprentice's eyes to glow like that it typically means that they are a peerless talent.

Once Gerald saw that he thought to himself, 'you got to be kidding me there's no way that bag of bones is some kind of once in a lifetime genus it makes no sense if that was true he wouldn't look so old'.

As Gerald tried to rationalize Desmond's threat level Desmond began to calmly walk closer to him. Gerald and Linda didn't know what to make of Desmond's actions at that moment so they watched him closely. If he was trying to leave they wouldn't stop him but if he attacked then he only had himself to blame for what would happen next.

"Everywhere I turn someone new wants to make me their enemy and I am sick of it. So, it makes me wonder what must I do to correct these people, what kind of person must I become? You don't have to answer, but you should at least look at me when I talk to you".

Desmond's last sentence stunned Gerald for a moment and made a shiver run down his spine. Not because of how it was said but because those words were suddenly spoken from behind him. The heat and stench from Desmond's breath caressed his neck gently as it ran up his nose. Gerald wasn't sure when it happened or how he only knew for sure that the old man that disappeared from his sight was standing directly behind him burning a hole in his head with his glare. Such speed baffled Gerald but it also pushed aside any arrogance that he still held and fully regard Desmond as a threat.

The moment Desmond disappeared and reappeared behind Gerald Linda saw the whole thing and knew the truth about Desmond's actions.

"Gerald its an illusion".

Linda's words came a bit too late at that moment Gerald's moments where already locked in place. He kicked out at full force towards the illusion of Desmond and hit nothing but air. While Gerald was momentarily stuck in that posture Desmond's shadowy figure came from behind while holding his enchanted dagger and stabbed towards Gerald's gut. Desmond enchanted dagger glowed a soft blue as Desmond poured his energy into it increasing its sharpness.

Once the blade struck Gerald's gut it managed to leave a long gash about a centimeter deep before it stopped there. Gerald tampered his body by using the [copper body] cultivation technique and various other methods endure his highly destructive fighting style. Desmond was surprised by how hard it was to cut Gerald's body. He had to use all the strength his arms could muster to cut him. But Desmond was still happy because he saw that he drew blood and that was good enough because it meant the poison on the dagger was in his system.

Gerald winced a little in pain after Desmond cut him. Though he bled Gerald didn't fret he knew how resilient his body was and that he could easily keep fighting. Gerald firmly planted his foot down, turned his body, and swung his fist at Desmond. After he did so his fist didn't hit what he expected instead of Desmond's face he struck a burning sheet of paper left in his place.

"Where are you looking now? If you don't start paying attention it will be the death of you".

Desmond's figure appeared out of the corner of Gerald's eye he was clearly casting a spell and it was a slow one at that. Typically Gerald would feel as though he would have plenty of time to counter in that situation but he couldn't because at that moment his movements became stiff. It was almost as if all his joints were super glued together. That momentary lapse gave Desmond all the time he needed to finish casting his spell.

"[Acid splash]".

Through the usage of the spell scroll [bind] and a few simple illusions, Desmond was able to create the perfect opening for himself. The spell struck Gerald point blank and started destroying his clothes and boiling his skin. A normal person would have had there entire body melted by Desmond's attack but the resilience of Gerald's body reduced the damage of the spell to mostly a bad skin burn.

Even though the full might of the spell wasn't realized it did help weaken Gerald's skin allowing Desmond to cut him 2 centimeters deeper instead of just 1. Just when Desmond was about to strike Gerald again his spiritual sense went off warning him of approaching damage.

Having no reason to rebuke such a thing Desmond followed his instinct and dodge to the left. A mear second ofter he did Linda clad in rock armor came crashing down from above him forcing him to retreat a few feet. Her timely interference gave Gerald himself from the spellbinding him.

"Are you still able to fight".

"I'm perfectly fine its just a mild skin burn and a few cuts. He gives off a dangerous vibe but his attacks are weak. If he could cast advanced level spells then this would be a different story".

"I see, then since your such an excellent sponge you'll be the vanguard I'll act as support".

"Whatever gets this over with quicker, we still have to go support Ferrise".

"Ferrise can last a few minutes by himself besides it's his fault for running off".

Desmond was interested in how Linda snuck up on him he never took his eye off her yet she still somehow made an earth clone of herself and fooled him. Such a sight ignited his love for magic and made him want to dive into the topic at once. But sadly that would have to wait till after he beat them.

"You call my attacks weak don't make me laugh. Haven't you realized that I've merely been holding back? If I whole wholeheartedly attacked you then you would barely be able to resist and then you wouldn't be able to learn a thing except for the insurmountable gap between us".

Linda tightened her brows in annoyance its fine to talk big but the old man before her had no shame. "You know you spew out a lot of shit out of your mouth old man yet you've shown little proof to back up that claim of yours".

"If its proof you want then just attack me. Come let this old man send you off to meet your ancestors, so that you can tell them personally how much of a disappointment you were".

Desmond heard every word that he said and even he was cringing inside. He doesn't know why he always goes for the wise and cocky old man persona. He knew it was partly because he always wanted to say stuff like that to someone, but the words that have been coming out of his mouth lately are a bit too embarrassing to bear. It took all of Desmond's strength to stop himself from laughing and break the mood that was in place.

Gerald accepting Desmond's challenge as he walked out the figure of a coiling dragon took form around him. The dragon hissed and burned the air as it followed every one of Gerald's movements. Once Gerald took a single step the dragon flicked the ground with its tail allowing Gerald to explode forward in a dazzling display of fireworks.

Gerald's became nothing but a blur in Desmond's eyes. He couldn't help but worry for his life as he became drenched in a cold sweat. Desmond can't move or react that stupidly fast and he knew it. His foundation as weak while the others before him were solid allowing them to display a stupid degree of strength and speed.

As Desmond was scolding himself for not ending Gerald's life in one move when he had the chance Gerald had just ran on the spot Desmond placed the trap rune and exploded. Desmond was secretly happy that the trap rune briefly stopped Gerald's advance while Linda was ashamed Gerald instant fell for another one of Desmond's tricks.

Once the smoke cleared it was easy to see Gerald's shoes were destroyed and that his feet where covered in soot, but for the most part he was perfectly fine. Gerald showed a bit of a pissed off expression on his face as the one dragon on his body became two and coiled around his arms before he slammed them both down. A seemingly endless wave of explosions traveled straight towards Desmond destroying everything in its path.

The attack was, so dangerous Desmond knew for sure that his body would have been blasted apart if he took it head on. The walls on the buildings on both sides were crumbling down but that didn't stop Desmond from scaling them. Through the usage of wind magic, Desmond was able to leap 20 feet in the air allowing him to avoid the attack. He was glad that he managed to avoid the attack but that stopped once he realized that the crumbling building was swallowing both his arms and legs locking him in place a courtesy done by Linda.

Desmond had no time to break out of the binds holding him because Gerald came shooting at him. Once Gerald finally got close enough to Desmond a storm of explosive punches rained down. Each punch beat Desmond further into the wall and broke his bones, fractured his skull, ruptured a few organs, and caused multiple other injuries in a short time.

Gerald is like a living grenade. His cells are filled to the brim with energy and by using a special technique he can almost instantaneously expel that energy for an explosive boost in both strength and speed. But the technique also causes self-harm and drains a significant amount of stamina. That is why Gerald had such a tough and durable body he simply had no choice but to strengthen himself as much as he could to not fall victim to his own technique.

Though Desmond was having his body beaten black and blue he cared little about that at the moment what pissed Desmond off was the damage he was causing to the marrow beatle and ventricle worms. He had plans for those two insects but Gerald's attacks might kill both of them before he even had the chance to use them. Once Gerald finished his volley of attacks he nocked Desmond through the wall slamming him through 2 floors till he crashed on the ground floor down.

Gerald felt relieved after he finally got the chance to shut Desmond up. His face was beaming with joy as he walked towards Linda.

"Is he dead?", Linda asked worried about the old man's return.

"I don't know for sure I know I broke a bunch of his bones and most likely did some internal damage but it doesn't matter if he's dead or not. We've waisted to much time on that old man already the injuries I gave him should put him out of commission for a while. Ferrise needs our help now just listen to what's happening over there it sounds like a war zone".

"Your right let's go".

Soon after Gerald and Linda began to leave an inexplicable sense of dread washed over both of them. That sensation put them both on guard and flip around to see what gave them that feeling. It was Desmond climbing out of the hole and landing on the ground seemingly uninjured. Though in actuality he was still suffering from all the injuries Gerald inflicted upon him. Desmond had a few healing potions on him he didn't use any of them he only rearranged his broken bones and stitched them together because he wasn't in a desperate enough of a situation that would warrant waisting one on himself.

"What are you trying to leave already? This battle has only just begun, ... Ha-young people not an ounce of patience in you, but since your in a hurry I'll be kind and speed up your demise".

Desmond didn't move from where he stood after he spoke, but his threat level in Gerald and Linda's hearts just skyrocketed. Both of there spiritual senses were going off like crazy telling them that danger was all around them. Though neither of them could see the threat it didn't stop them from dodging and firing attacks wildly at where they thought the threat was. Linda felt as though her actions did little to nothing to shield herself from whatever danger was coming while Gerald felt as though his explosions did something to remove it.

Both of them were right but in the end, both of there actions are ultimately fruitless. They have both already been surrounded by Desmond's spirit threads and he had no plans to spare either of them.

Gerald and Linda unable to remove the surrounding danger both decided to kill the source of it. Gerald's body exploded forward and struck from above he became a dazzling explosive dragon that descended from the heavens. While Linda turned the entire ground into quicksand that started to swallow Desmond whole.

Desmond wasn't threatened by there display it instead filled him with excitement because one day he would be able to do that as well and better but for now, he has to rely on other means to win his fights. As an imposing dragon came crashing down Desmond confronted it with a ghostly whale. The two imposing force clashed in the middle of the ally and shook everything around them. An endless rumbling of explosions cascaded downwards towards Desmond but couldn't touch his body. Desmond ghostly whale was equal in force to Gerald's attack forcing both of them into a standstill.

Though both sides were equal in power Gerald found himself on the losing side of the exchange. The sound waves from Desmond's attack not only rattled his bones it also shook his soul. Gerald had no defense to defend against such an attack. Resulting in cracks appearing on his soul. The severe damage to his soul was excruciating to bear it made his attack waver weaken his momentum. The Gerald tried to endure it a little longer he couldn't because of the massive amount of magic that he used it sped up the rate at which the magic poison spread throughout his body till at that moment when the effect of the poison reached its peak and caused Gerald to vomit blood.

Gerald's attack in that instance dispersed allowing Desmond's ghostly whale to hit him in full force. Gerald couldn't escape the attack and neither could Linda the speed of sound was to fast for them to dodge from. Linda raised a rock wall to block Desmond's attack but she only saw it crumble in front of her along with her rock armor as her soul cracked from Desmond's attack.

Both Gerald and Linda laid on the ground in pain damage to the soul is not something mear apprentices can handle, so the found it difficult to muster up the strength to cast magic. As Gerald laid spewing blood onto the ground Desmond walked towards him. Gerald saw Desmond coming for him so he mobilized what strength he had and fired a stream of deadly explosions in his direction. As the explosions washed over Desmond's figure it only made the illusions of him flicker. Desmond had already been standing next to Gerald since he fell down. He had simply been waiting for Gerald to make one last desperate attack to save himself.

Attacking using a spell while your soul is damaged will only expand the damage. Gerald's attack only made it easier for Desmond to overpower Gerald's soul. Desmond's soul threads invaded Gerald's body and pumped his spirit energy inside of him disrupting Gerald's use of magic. Gerald couldn't help but become overwhelmed with emotions as Desmond cradled his head in his hands and looked directly into his eyes. The eyes are the gateway to the soul and as he faced death Gerald's eyes portrayed many things shock, fear, disbelief, anger, but above all a dwindling sense of hope.

"Stop you can't kill me I'm a core student of Twilight Academy my master will have your head for this if you take this any further".

With a cold and indifferent look, Desmond sneered then replied, "I don't care".

Desmond without care for the consequences unhinged his jaw to an inhuman degree then unleashed a horrendous whale at point blank range. Gerald's eyes were pushed back into the furthest depths of his head, his brain was also pushed back inside his skull and squeezed into paste while blook trickle out of all of Gerald's orifices. When Gerald's body flopped onto the ground like a potato sack Desmond moved his gaze towards Linda. Linda not wanting to end up like Gerald ignored the damage to her soul and focused on serving.

A great amount of magic was utilized by Linda and then used it to bring both buildings on opposite sides of Desmond down upon him. Desmond saw what she was doing but it was already too late to stop her both buildings were already fragile from the earlier clashes. So Linda only needed to tilt them a little to make them fall. There was far too much rubble for Desmond to avoid forcing him to confront it directly.

In less than a second Desmond produced 5 wind blades and sent them all towards the rubble above him. Each wind blade brake and cut apart the rubble when they disappeared Desmond cast the spell again and again till the sky was filled with wind blades. When the debris stopped falling Desmond was heaving loudly it took a lot of his magic to resist being crushed by two buildings. Though the debris stopped falling the danger wasn't over the rubble started swarming Desmond at a fast speed. It completely covered his body and kept packing on till he was encased in a large earth sphere.

Such a spell caused Linda a great amount of pain to cast but she wasn't done she planned to crush Desmond then and there. It was for her own sake she wanted to live and knew confronting him with a damaged soul was impossible. Linda used all the strength that she had to compact the sphere as much as she could. When Linda felt she was nearing her goal the sphere suddenly started to expand rapidly.

Bits of smoke and a colorful flame seeped out of the cracks. Linda tried her hardest to control the situation but it was of no use. Desmond soul fire burst the sphere open allowing Desmond to walk out freely. Gorgeous flames enveloped Desmond's body as he rubbed his stiff joints.

"That was quite the display you showed, but it's going to take more than that to kill this old man. But for your effort, I'll give you a beautiful death".

Tears trickled from Linda's eyes after she heard Desmond's words and saw him wave his hand that seemed to be able to set the world on fire. Regret a painful regret from an unrealized dream pained her heart ever so. As Linda bathed in crystalline flames that regret turned into wonder. She wondered about how her life would have been if she chose a different path. Such thoughts different last long because it was replaced by an unimaginable amount of pain. Desmond's flames ravaged her body and soul. Besides leaving the area in time there was no way for her to stop the effects of the soul fire.

With his enemies defeated Desmond was overjoyed. He had overcome so much bull shit to get to where he now stands. Though it wasn't enough to mean anything against all the giants that want a piece of him it was a start and that's all that mattered.

As Desmond stood proudly over his victim someone's voice caught his ear.

"What the hell happened".

Desmond didn't spare any words for Ferrise and Maverick who both had a shocked expression on their faces he only looked at them coldly then attacked.